Established in 1993, the Friends of Mayow Park are people who are interested in and care about Mayow Park in the London Borough of Lewisham. Our members include dog walkers and joggers, parents,grandparents and carers with children, young people and retired people.

Friday, 18 September 2015

Weather plays an
important part when there is gardening to do so it was a great relief that
today, 17h September 2015, turned out
dry, relatively warm and with some sun. Nature’s Gym volunteers and staff
returned to Mayow Park and there must have been 15 people in total.

As always there was more
than plenty to do. Most of the work was based at the Triangle fruit and herb
beds but a few volunteers worked at the orchard and bug hotel.

The orchard saw a
team removing weeds round the base of the trees and adding a layer of mulch to
suppress weeds and look after the tree roots.

The bug hotel in the
nearby woodland had more woody material added to the pallets to create a cosy
environment for our park invertebrates ahead of the winter. Would it be cosy
enough to attract a hedgehog or two?

One of the volunteers
did a grand job of cutting down the mini wild flower meadow with shears and we
plan to sow more wild flowers in late autumn in the hope of a colourful display
next spring and summer.

In the Triangle, the
hedgerow round the fruit garden had become untidy with branches stretching over
the woodchip path, hindering movement. This has now been pruned. The woodchip
path has been raked in an effort to remove weeds growing in it. And the herb
bed has had serious attention to remove bindweed which is gradually taking over
available bare earth.

hedgerow pruned to allow access to the path

Richard raking the woodchip path

Meet Gary and Gary

All this work
generates plenty of garden waste. Glendale’s cleansing team were able to assist
by taking it away.

Some of the team

As always these
sessions are not only about serious gardening.

There is time to relax and catch
up on news during tea/ lunch break.

And home time means packing tools back in the van.

Packing up time

The impact of all this
work should be clearly visible to all. The Friends of Mayow Park are very
grateful for the regular support we receive from Nature’s Gym volunteers.

Cricket has made a
come-back in Lewisham. Two of its parks, Mayow Park and Hilly Fields, have cricket
squares. Special care is necessary to
maintain the squares to a high standard for the cricketers. One man who knows a
lot about taking care of these sites is Luke Rayment and I had the good fortune
to interview him about his work in mid-September 2015.

Luke has worked for
Glendale Lewisham Grounds Management since 2010 as their cricket groundsman and
you may spot him working on site during the cricket season.

Luke maintains the cricket squares in both parks in readiness for weekly matches. His role
includes cutting the grass to a specified height, rolling the wickets with a
roller machine and marking out the lines in white paint. He also carries out repairs to the wicket
which involves spreading loam and levelling out the site each week.

Prior to working for
Glendale, Luke worked for 11 years to maintain the greens at a golf course.
During that time he studied part-time at Hadlow College near Tunbridge Wells
for his NVQ2 with training in sports turf management. He enjoyed his work but wanted
to move on for his personal professional development.

When he first started
with Glendale he worked alongside two very experienced groundsmen and
learned a lot from them. He has attended a number of other courses including
Level 1 and Level 2 Foundation training through the English Cricket Board (ECB)
where he improved his skills to maintain a cricket square.

He finds this work very
satisfying particularly when he can see the impact he makes on the cricket
square. He appreciates the positive feedback he receives from Glendale Lewisham
managers, one of whom is a cricket fan. Park users also show their interest with comments
about cricket in Mayow Park and compliments about Luke’s work.

Occasionally he is
disappointed by thoughtless behaviour from the public, particularly when people
walk across the cricket square, play football and other activities which cause
damage. They are not aware of the effort and care that goes into maintaining
the site. Fortunately in Mayow Park this is rare.

Luke’s work in our park is
special and his satisfaction with what he does is wonderful. Now I know why he
always looks cheerful. Thank you, Luke.

Wednesday, 2 September 2015

I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago. On 19th August I was hurrying through the park on my way to catch a train but stopped briefly to take two photos of a tractor cutting the long grass in the meadow. It gives Mayow Park a rural feel I think. I believe the grass in the meadow won't be cut again until spring 2016.

The park has been very busy throughout the summer holidays, particularly on sunny days. Many families with children of all ages, regular dog walkers, joggers, cricketers and others were out enjoying our local green space. On all but the wettest days there were people in the park. Glendale cleansing team came daily to empty bins and pick up as much litter as they could see. The cricket square continued to be maintained by Luke from Glendale and some of the cricketers. The number of children using the park during the week will now reduce rapidly as they go back to school.

The school summer holidays ended with a number of days with seriously heavy rain and the grass just kept on growing. So it was great to see one of the park maintenance people from Glendale today (2nd September 2015) busily strimming the grass verges to keep them tidy and well maintained. I spoke to the man in the photo and he takes pride in his work. It can be a lonely job going round the park strimming the grass edges so if you see him, smile and say 'thank you for helping to keep the park looking good'.

About Us

Established in 1993, the Friends of Mayow Park (FOMP)are people who are interested in and care about Mayow Park in the London Borough of Lewisham. Anyone can become a member of FOMP. Our members include dog walkers and joggers, parents, grandparents and carers with children, retired people, young people and any others who use and enjoy this park.